Automotive door hinge assembly with adjustable door check and hold-open detenting means



Oct. 26, 1965 A. M NAY ETAL AUTOMOTIVE DOOR HINGE ASSEMBLY WITH ADJUSTABLE DOOR CHECK AND HOLD-OPEN DETENTING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 28, 1962 INVENTORS flerz? W970 ,6 BY cQ/zzam/S iafzra fiTTORNEY 1965 A. M NAY ETAL 3,213,485

AUTOMOTIVE DOOR HINGE ASSEMBLY WITH ADJUSTABLE DOOR CHECK AND HOLD-OPEN DETENTING' MEANS Filed Dec. 28, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,213,485 AUTOMOTIVE DOOR HINGE ASSEMBLY WITH ADJUSTABLE DOOR CHECK AND HOLD-OPEN DETENTING MEANS Albert McNay, Dearborn, and Edmund S. Badura, De-

troit, Mich., assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 248,006 4 Claims. (Cl. 16-144) This invention relates to automotive vehicle door hinges and contemplates a relatively simple, inexpensive hinge mechanism having integral door check and hold-open detenting means adjustable to meet the mounting requirements for doors of different sizes and weight on different vehicle bodies and adapted to cushion and thereby minimize the checking loads effected by opening movement of the vehicle door to its check limited fully opened position.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred illustrative embodiment having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary sectional view through portions of an automotive vehicle door and body pillar and shows the hinge, check and hold-open assembly of the invention in plan elevation with the door in its closed position;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 showing the door in an intermediate hold-open detent maintained position;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the hinge assembly shown in its hold-open detent maintained position and is taken substantially in the direction of the arrows indicated at 3--3 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially in the direction of the arrows and in the plane of the line indicated at 44 of FIGURE 3 and shows engagement of the hold-open detent of the illustrative hinge; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially in the direction of the arrows and in the plane of the line indicated at 55 in FIGURE 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the illustrative hinge assembly is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. As best shown in FIGURE 1, a hinge mounting chamber is normally defined between a fixed vehicle body pillar 12 forming an intermediate door jamb member and opposing jamb facing edges of front and rear door members 14 and 16 when in their closed positions. The assembly hinges the rear door 16 for swinging movement relative to the body pillar 12. This hinge assembly comprises a female hinge strap member 18 having a mounting base or end portion 20 suitably secured as shown to the pillar 12. Spaced clevis arms 22 and 22' are angled outwardly from the bight defined by the pillar mounted portion 20. The free ends of these clevis arms carry a hinge pin 24. As best shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 5, this pin pivotally journals a hinge arm portion 26 of a male hinge strap member 28 immediately adjacent a mounting base or end portion 30 angled therefrom. The hinge mounting portion 30 is suitably secured as shown to the jamb facing edge of the rear door 16.

During opening movement of the rear door 16, the male hinge arm 26 swings between the spaced clevis arms of the female hinge member. As shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the upper clevis arm 22 is recessed intermediate its ends at 32 to receive an upstanding flange 34 on the male hinge arm. A self-locking set screw 36 is threadedly adjustable in the recessed portion of the clevis arm 22. This set screw is engageable with the flange 34 to check door opening movement of the hinge member 28 and thus establishes a fully opened door position.

A hold-open detent member 40 is suitably staked in a hole drilled in the supported end of the upper clevis arm between the recess 32 and the hinge mounting bight portion 20. This detent member has a cylindrical head 42 engageable with the undersurface of the clevis arm 22 and a frusto conical outer ramp 44 concentrically embracing a conical recess 46 defining a hold-open detent. The ramp 44 and the detent defining recess 46 are slidably engageable by a spring biased plunger 5t) reciprocably mounted within the free end of the male hinge arm 26.

As best seen in FIGURES 3 and 4, the free end of the male hinge arm 26 is counterbored parallel to the pivotal hinge axis and defines a cylindrical chamber slideably mounting the detent engaging plunger 50. This chamber is closed at its lower end by a self-locking, threadably adjustable spring seating cap 48. An annular wall 52 closes the upper end of the chamber and slideably embraces an upwardly projecting detent engaging end 54 of the plunger 50. An annular spring seating flange 56 is formed on the plunger intermediate the relatively short upper end portion 54 and a somewhat longer spring guide portion 58. This lower spring guide portion is embraced by a helical spring 60 compressively interposed between the flange 56 and the threadable cap 48. The spring 60 thus normally biases the plunger 50 upwardly toward limiting engagement between the flange 56 and the upper chamber end Wall 52.

The spring biased reciprocable mounting of the detent engaging plunger in the free end of the male hinge arm permits unrestricted opening movement of the rear door 16 from its closed position, shown in FIGURE 1, through a substantial arc until the upper end of the plunger 50 slideably and frictionally engages the outer frustoconical ramp 44 of the detent member. Such engagement actuates the plunger 50 downwardly against the biasing action of the spring 60 and thus cushions the door opening moment just prior to entry of the upper plunger end 54 into the detent defining recess 46 to establish the detent maintained hold-open position of the door.

The set screw 36 is preferably adjusted to provide a check limited, fully opened door position slightly beyond its detent maintained hold-open position. With such set screw adjustment, movement of the door to its check limited, fully opened position is cushioned by sliding deflection of the plunger 50 by the detent recess against the biasing action of the spring 60. The prestressed biasing action of the spring may be varied by threaded adjustment of the self-locking spring seating cap 48 to meet desired operational requirements for doors of different size and weight. For this purpose, the cap is provided with a suitable wrench receiving socket 62. Variations in door opening load requirements may :also be met by using detent members having different ramp and recess inclinations thus providing different plunger deflecting characteristics.

From the foregoing description, it may be seen that the invention provides a relatively simple, inexpensive hinge mechanism having integral door check and hold-open detenting means capable of advantageous unit installation and adjustable to meet the operational hold-open and door check requirements for doors of different sizes and weight. It is further apparent that various modifications and changes might be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A hinge for mounting a closure member on a vehicle body member for swinging movement between opened and closed positions, said hinge comprising a first female hinge member mountable on the vehicle body member and having spaced hinge arms angled outwardly therefrom, a second male hinge member mountable on the closure member and having a hinge arm angled outwardly therefrom, a hinge pin pivotally connecting the free ends of the spaced hinge arms of the first hinge member to the arm of the second hinge member adjacent the closure mountable portion thereof, said second hinge member arm being swingable between said first hinge arms and having a flange thereon engageable with one of said first hinge arms to define a fully opened, closure checking position between the hinge members, a detent defining member carried by one of said first hinge arms adjacent the body mountable portion thereof, said detent member being recessed to form oppositely inclined ramps defining an intermediate closure detenting position angularly spaced slightly from said closure checking position, and spring biased plunger means reciprocably mounted within the free end of the second hinge member arm and engageable with said detent defining member to establish the intermediate detent maintained closure position between the hinge members and to snub further opening movement of the closure member to its fully opened checked position.

2. A combined hinge, check and hold-open assembly for mounting a closure member on a vehicle body member for swinging movement between opened and closed positions, said assembly comprising a first hinge member having a bight portion mountable on the vehicle body member and spaced hinge arm portions angled outwardly therefrom, a second hinge member having a base portion mountable on the closure member and a hinge arm portion angled outwardly therefrom, a hinge pin pivotally connecting the free ends of the spaced hinge arms of the first member to the arm of the second member adjacent the base portion thereof, the arm of the second hinge member being swingable between the spaced arms of the first hinge member and having a flange thereon engageable with one of the spaced hinge arms of the first hinge member to define a fully opened, closure checking position between the hinge members, a detent defining member carried by one of the spaced hinge arms of the first hinge member adjacent the mounting base portion thereof, said detent member having oppositely inclined intersecting ramps cooperating to form a closure hold-open position angularly spaced slightly from the fully opened clo sure position, a plunger reciprocably mounted within the free end of the second hinge arm and engageable with said detent defining member to establish the holdopen detent maintained closure position between the hinge members, and compressive spring means carried by said second hinge member arm and operable to bias said plunger toward hold-open maintaining engagement with said detent defining member, and said spring biased plunger sequentially cooperating with said detent member to snub closure opening movement toward its intermediate hold-open and fully opened closure checking positions.

3. In a combined hinge, check and hold-open assembly as set forth in claim 2, adjustable means carried by said second hinge member arm for varying the biasing action of the spring means to meet the mounting and operating requirements of closure members of different size and weight.

4. In a combined hinge, check and hold-open assembly as set forth in claim 2, said detent defining member having a cylindrical head with annular inclined ramp surfaces thereon slidably engageable to actuate said plunger against the biasing action of said spring means to cushion movement of the closure member to its detent maintained hold-open position and therefrom toward its fully opened check limited position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,342,531 2/44 Dean.

2,798,249 7/57 Lukala 16-144 2,812,536 11/57 Ragsdale 16141 2,947,023 8/60 Hollar l6l45 2,962,751 12/60 Dozois et al. 16-145 2,985,908 5/61 Allen et al. 16-141 DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner. 

1. A HINGE FOR MOUNTING A CLOSURE MEMBER ON A VEHICLE BODY MEMBER FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT BETWEENN OPENED AND CLOSED POSITIONS, SAID HINGE COMPRISING A FIRST FEMALE HINGE MEMBER MOUNTABLE ON THE VEHICLE BODY MEMBER AND HAVING SPACED HINGE ARMS ANGLED OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, A SECOND MALE HINGE MEMBER MOUNTABLE ON THE CLOSURE MEMBER AND HAVING A HINGE ARM ANGLED OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, A HINGE PIN PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE FREE ENDS OF THE SPACED HINGE ARMS OF THE FIRST HINGE MEMBER TO THE ARM OF THE SECOND HINGE MEMBER ADJACENT THE CLOSURE MOUNTABLE PORTION THEREOF, SAID SECOND HINGE MEMBER ARM BEING SWINGABLE BETWEEN SAID FIRST HINGE ARMS AND HAVING A FLANGE THEREON ENGAGEABLE WITH ONE OF SAID FIRST HINGE ARMS TO DEFINE A FULLY OPENED, CLOSURE CHECKING POSITION BETWEEN THE HINGE MEMBERS, A DETENT DEFINING MEMBER CARRIED BY ONE OF SAID FIRST HINGE ARMS ADJACENT THE BODY MOUNTABLE PORTION THEREOF, SAID DETENT MEMBER BEING RECESSED TO FORM OPPOSITELY INCLINED RAMPS DEFINING AN IN- 